Scottish poet brings an appreciation for language on social media

Photo of Len Pennie from her YouTube channel.

Len Pennie, who also goes by @miss_punnypennie on TikTok and @misspunnypennie on Instagram, is a Scottish poet who regularly posts interesting facts about the Scottish and English languages.

Specifically, Pennie features a Scots word of the day each day on her TikTok to preserve the language. She introduces a word, its definition, and says it a few times to ensure viewers understand it. See the example below for an idea of how she operates.

@miss_punnypennie The word is my top priority. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙 #scotslanguage ♬ original sound - Miss PunnyPennie

Pennie also addresses English words and their impact on the Scots language, including the below video about the use of "cop" as opposed to "polis" when referring to the police, something some of her viewers disparage as an "Americanism."

@miss_punnypennie Replying to @user3931440500126 ♬ original sound - Miss PunnyPennie

Another of Pennie's TikToks involves her recounting how so many Scottish people have been punished in the past for speaking Scots, with the language being devalued as an imperfect form of English.

@miss_punnypennie Replying to @alba_male48 ♬ original sound - Miss PunnyPennie

Likewise, Pennie features some of her poetry, including the below example that infuses a mixture of Scots and English into a timely message about women's bodies.

@miss_punnypennie #onthisday ♬ original sound - Miss PunnyPennie

I enjoy watching Pennie's content both because I enjoy a good Scottish accent and because it's always interesting to learn new words and their origins. I guess that's just the English major in me, especially after I took a class on the history and structure of the English language.

I also really appreciate her attempts at preserving the Scots language, especially after learning about a number of other languages that are being lost with time after their attempted eradication, namely the Navajo language.

I highly suggest checking Pennie out on her social media, and if you want, you can pre-order her poetry book "Poyums," which is scheduled to be published in February 2024.

International music everyone should check out

While there's an endless variety of great music in the United States, sometimes it's nice to dip a toe in the international pool of talent.

After all, the United States is no stranger to British Invasions and K-pop fandoms, among other international waves. Likewise, I've been expanding my taste in international music over the last several years and there are plenty of international acts that I just don't think get enough recognition.

Let's highlight a small sample of the international music roster I've been diving into. Here's a short list of international music to check out in no particular order.

Shervin Hajipour

Iranian singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour's "Baraye" received a Grammy for Best Song for Social Change. The category was just added this year, and it was presented by First Lady Jill Biden. Hajipour was briefly arrested for the song in 2022, and he's now on Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people in the world.

The song was inspired by a trend where Iranians posted why they were protesting after the death of Mahsa Amini, specifically with phrases starting with "for," as "Baraye" literally translates to "for" in Farsi. Tweets that inspired the lyrics are included in the music video.

Examples of lyrics translated into English include: "For feeling peace of mind / For the rise of sun after long-lasting nights / ... For man, homeland, prosperity / ... For woman, life, freedom."

Even when you can't understand the lyrics, the passion with which Hajipour sings "Baraye" is palpable, and both the vocals and instrumental are high quality. The song is worth listening to on all accounts.

Little Mix

Little Mix is a British girl group that won the eighth season of the British version of "The X Factor." While they're quite popular across the pond, the group wasn't promoted particularly well in the United States. The group consists of Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jesy Nelson.

Little Mix is on indefinite hiatus at the moment, but the roster of music the group built up spanning its 11-year run is evergreen and showcases a fun evolution of the group's style.

Each of Little Mix's six albums has hit songs, and they've collaborated with plenty of other artists including Nicki Minaj, Jason Derulo, David Guetta, Missy Elliot, Anne-Marie, Machine Gun Kelly, Charlie Puth, and Ty Dolla Sign, among others.

Likewise, two of the girls have released solo singles. Jesy released "Boyz" with Nicki Minaj and "Bad Thing" on her own. More recently, Leigh-Anne released her debut single "Don't Say Love." I'll always recommend listening to both Little Mix and each of its members' solo careers.

Kiki Rockwell

Kiki Rockwell is a singer, songwriter, and producer raised in New Zealand. I've only listened to a handful of her songs, but they all have a unique appeal to them. Based on her Instagram bio and some of the lyrics in her songs, there's an element of German, Swedish, Irish, and Baltic influence involved.

Some of Rockwell's songs seem to be an acquired taste, but if nothing else, I suggest listening to "Burn Your Village (Same Old Energy Pt. II)," which is the video I included above, and "Cup Runneth Over."

Admittedly, "Burn Your Village" is still a bit intense and features explicit lyrics, but it's a well-written earworm with a video that's reminiscent of the witch trials from a more feminist point of view. Fitting since Rockwell identifies herself as a pagan witch.

In contrast, "Cup Runneth Over" is a much softer LGBTQ+ narrative and features a more medieval sort of setting with swords and royalty. Either way, Rockwell's music and creativity aren't something to sleep on. Everything is worth listening to once.

'The Oracle Prophecies' by Catherine Fisher is underrated

Photo of my set of "The Oracle Prophecies" trilogy by Catherine Fisher.

"The Oracle Prophecies" by Welsh author Catherine Fisher is a trilogy of children's books that seems to be inspired by Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian themes and mythology.

Facing a drought in "The Oracle Betrayed," the Archon—who acts as the human incarnation of this fictional world's god—is called upon to be sacrificed according to Hermia, who acts as Speaker for the god and is the most senior of the god's nine priestesses.

However, Mirany, who acts as Bearer of the god, discovers that this is a plot by Hermia and her lover General Argelin to control the land. Mirany, with the help of the Archon's musician Oblek and ambitious scribe Seth, must find the new Archon and keep him safe from Hermia and Argelin's influence.

The two novels that follow, "The Sphere of Secrets" and "Day of the Scarab," present further adventures experienced by Mirany, Seth, Oblek, and the Archon in their pursuit of ending the drought and restoring peace.

This trilogy was one of my favorites when I started reading for pleasure in sixth grade, hence why I obtained personal copies more recently, but I can scarcely find anything about the books beyond where to buy them, some Goodreads reviews, and a Wikipedia page for the first book.

Despite being an international bestseller, "The Oracle Prophecies" trilogy is underrated and has the potential to be so much more. I'd argue that it has the same entertainment value and feel to it as the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series, but with a slightly more mature tone and an exploration of a different cultural landscape.

In fact, I think "The Oracle Prophecies" trilogy is perfectly poised to be adapted for a TV show or a series of movies. The trilogy has an interesting world to explore, it's just underrated enough to keep audience expectations reasonable, and it's something that hasn't been rebooted ad infinitum.

Either way, I highly recommend the trilogy, especially for middle school aged children and teens. "The Oracle Prophecies" is a solid trilogy that scratches the itch for children's fantasy novels.

'1899' is an intriguing multilingual mystery that shouldn't have been cancelled

"1899" is a 2022 Netflix sci-fi mystery that follows several groups of emigrants traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States on a steamship called the Kerberos in 1899.

Much of the mystery surrounds a young boy found aboard the abandoned Prometheus steamship, a mysterious man controlling a scarab, a small pyramid, a set of letters sent to several passengers, and a series of hallucinations.

It's initially difficult to tell if the show's mystery is supernatural or psychological, and although signs seem to point in the direction of one over the other by the end of the season, viewers are still left with a massive cliffhanger and several loose ends.

This would normally be a perfectly good ending to the first season of a show, but since Netflix cancelled the series, viewers may never see a resolution to the cliffhanger or loose ends we were left with. And I'm not sure I understand why Netflix cancelled the show given the overall positive reception "1899" received.

Granted, the show does feel slow-moving in some episodes, but the payoff was worth the wait, at least for me. Part of the intrigue of the show was watching the ensemble cast's stories unfold and collide while trying to figure out what was going on.

Regardless, it's certainly a unique international tale from the German duo that co-created Netflix's "Dark." The show also features eight languages spoken across the various emigrant groups. The languages are English, Spanish, French, Polish, German, Danish, Portuguese, and Cantonese.

I watched the series with English dubbing since I have a difficult time giving proper visual attention to a show while simultaneously reading subtitles, and while dubbing never quite captures the intended emotion in a scene, the dubbing in "1899" was good enough that I barely noticed it in many scenes.

If "1899" sounds interesting, I recommend watching it on Netflix. And maybe signing the petition to bring it back.

'Polite Society' is wildly entertaining

"Polite Society" is a 2023 action-comedy film about a British-Pakistani teenager, Ria Khan (Priya Kansara), who tries to stop her sister Lena (Ritu Arya) from marrying into a family with nefarious intentions, all while pursuing her dream to eventually become a stuntwoman.

Ria initially has a close relationship with Lena, who has recently dropped out of art school and spends most of her time either trying to spark her creativity or helping Ria film stunt videos.

Ria and Lena are both discouraged from pursuing their dreams by their traditional parents, and Ria also receives discouragement from both her teachers and her school bully Kovacs (Shona Babayemi). Likewise, Ria's attempts to make famous stuntwoman Eunice Huthart her mentor go unanswered.

Then Lena is set up with successful geneticist Salim (Akshay Khanna) at an Eid Mubarak celebration hosted by Salim's mother Raheela (Nimra Bucha), and Ria spends the rest of the film trying to break them up because she's worried Lena will give up on her dreams, only to discover there's an even bigger reason to break them up.

I won't ruin the plot twist, but it's wild. As are so many other parts of the movie.

Before the plot twist even occurred, one of the wildest parts of the movie for me was when Ria and Lena got into a massive fight about Ria's attempt to scope out Salim at his gym.

At that point, all Lena knew was that Ria had talked to Salim at the gym and she immediately came in hot with an angry confrontation over it, then when the argument escalated, she started an all-out fist fight with Ria. Wildly entertaining, but also completely uncalled for with the limited amount of information she had at the time.

Regardless, the wild escalations and drama in the movie made for a great time, and the movie actually ended up feeling like a somewhat grounded superhero origin story for Ria. The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes even calls the movie "a fun film that blends Bollywood splendor and British wryness."

I also thoroughly enjoyed Nimra Bucha's performance as antagonist Raheela, especially after previously seeing her in a similarly antagonistic role in "Ms. Marvel" last year. I hope to see her in more roles in the future.

Likewise, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Ria's friends Clara (Seraphina Beh) and Alba (Ella Bruccoleri), who provided amazing comedic and plot-driven support throughout the movie, as well as Ria's parents Fatima (Shobu Kapoor) and Rafe (Jeff Mirza).

"Polite Society" is a strong directorial debut for writer/director Nida Manzoor. I greatly enjoyed every second of the wild ride the movie took me on. I'll definitely be looking out for her other content going forward.

If this review piques your interest in the least, I highly suggest watching "Polite Society" on Peacock or buying or renting the movie wherever else you can find it.